Herod Slaughters Babies

16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by (A)the magi, he became very enraged, and sent men and (B)killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity [a]who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. 17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

18 (C)A voice was heard in Ramah,
Weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
And she refused to be comforted,
Because they were no more.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 2:16 Lit from two...and under

16 Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. 17 Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

18 “A cry was heard in Ramah—
    weeping and great mourning.
Rachel weeps for her children,
    refusing to be comforted,
    for they are dead.”[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 2:18 Jer 31:15.